Saturday, September 19, 2015

We spent the last week traveling to Virginia Beach and Philadelphia. It was the perfect time to go to the beach. The weather was still nice enough to get in the water, but the beach wasn't very crowded because it's September. We have been to Philadelphia before, so this trip I wanted to do some of the things we didn't get to last time. I have to say taking a trip a week after being diagnosed with celiac disease was a challenge but we made it work. When I travel I LOVE to eat (who am I kidding? Anyone who knows me knows I love to eat any time, traveling or not!). I really enjoy trying new restaurants, especially if they are local to the area we are visiting or ones that we don't have here in Central Virginia. It was difficult for me to walk past restaurants and realize that I could not eat the food. I came close to having a meltdown in Virgina Beach on the boardwalk, but I held it together (barely). The saddest day of this trip was when we walked through Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia and I saw all this food I could no longer eat. Thankfully, we were able to find some great gluten-free food. Shout out to Zero's Subs in Virginia Beach for their delicious gluten-free bread, and their delicious subs! Also, kudos to The Race Street Cafe in Philadelphia for the gluten-free bun for their yummy burger. Being gluten-free is turning out to be a good thing. This is the first road trip we've been on where I actually lost weight!

The beach. It never gets old.

We went to the top of the Cape Henry Lighthouse. Scary stairs, amazing views!

Look at that view!

There are actually two lighthouses. The one on the left is still in operation. We went to the top of the one on the right.

On our way to Philadelphia, we took the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. There are two tunnels that go under the Bay, which is pretty much the ocean. So I'm crossing "drive under the ocean" off of my bucket list.

The view from our hotel room in Philadelphia. Kind of creepy - I made Husband sleep closest to the window! This is the Christ Church Burial Grounds. Benjamin Franklin is buried here. We could almost see his grave from our room, but there was a tree in the way.

We didn't visit Rocky on our last trip, so we made sure to do it this time! I tried to convince Husband to run the stairs, but he said "No!" Boo on him! He knew better than to try and get me to run them! Definitely not on my bucket list.

Husband on the "Rocky Steps" with downtown Philadelphia in the background. If you look closely, you can see preparations for the Pope's visit are in full swing. The city is already closing roads to prepare. We weren't aware of this, and let's just say it led to a rather adventurous drive to get to Rocky!

We also toured the US Mint. If you are ever in Philadelphia, put this on your must-see list! It was pretty cool to watch the coins being made. You're not allowed to take pictures inside, so this is all you get.